System and method for transmitting and display of visual messages on screens of connected mobile devices

ABSTRACT

A method for conveying a message to a user of a mobile device. The mobile device includes a display and memory. Message content is transferred from a server attached to the mobile device over a mobile network. Metadata is also transferred from the server. The metadata includes instructions for displaying the message content. The message content and the metadata are stored in the memory. The message content is read from the memory and the message is displayed on the display according to the instructions. The reading and displaying is performed by an by an application previously installed on the mobile device. The display events are logged to produce a log stored in the memory and the log is periodically transferred to the server. Preferably, the message content is provided by a customer and the message content stored on the server is targeted for the user. The customer receives the log from the server and preferably the customer subsidizes use of the mobile device based on the log.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a Continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.11/883,848 filed on Aug. 7, 2007, which is a National Phase of PCTPatent Application No. PCT/US2006/004203 having International FilingDate of Feb. 6, 2006, which claims the benefit of U.S. ProvisionalPatent Application No. 60/650,212 filed on Feb. 7, 2005. The contents ofthe above Applications are all incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD AND BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to transmitting and display of visualmessages, banners, commercial logos, short video messages on connectedmobile devices including wireless, e.g. cellular, telephones, andpersonal digital assistants.

Since the advent of telephone communications and its modern dayincarnation cellular communications, telecommunications has alwaysfollowed the same basic business model. The model has always beencharacterized by a consumer paying for connectivity and services basedon either the amount of time or the amount of bandwidth consumed.

In other fields of communications, namely broadcast communications themodel is different in that some communication platforms provide a modelthrough which the consumer does not pay for either connectivity orbandwidth. In these models the connectivity and bandwidth are paid forby advertising revenues. Such is the case with commercial television,commercial radio, newspapers and many popular Internet web sites.

Today's new devices, both wired and wireless, contain a myriad offeatures once thought impossible or not relevant. Features includemultimedia messaging, video and audio support, media management,multi-channel/multi-system communications and more. Today it is quitecommon to find a phone with a color screen capable of displaying richmedia such as animations, video clips and pictures. Such a screen hashad limited effect as a commercial medium until now.

There is considerable prior art in the area of advertising usingcellular telephones. In US patent application publication 20040259599, acellular phone is composed of a housing, a keyboard, first and seconddisplay devices, a memory, a receiver-transmitter, and a controllercomputer. The memory stores the advertising information. The controllercomputer is programmed to receive the advertising information throughthe receiver-transmitter, to control the first display device inresponse to instructions received through the keyboard, and to controlthe second display device to display the advertising information on ascreen of the second display device during a phone call establishedthrough the receiver-transmitter in response to operation of thekeyboard by a user.

In US patent application publication 20040224705, an advertisertransmits advertising contents from a contents server to a portabletelephone. A user displays the advertising contents on the display unitin the rear face and the like of the portable telephone in public placesand the like so as to advertise the contents to a third party. Theadvertiser shares a part of the communication fee for compensating theuser for displaying the advertisement.

In US patent application publication 20040267615, a method of presentingadvertising to a consumer employs use of telephone calls, whetheraccessed by toll-free number, by use of calling cards or service accesscards or other account access mode. When a user makes a call, andattempts to access the service, to access an account, or uses a callingcard, an advertisement is presented to the user prior to allowing accessto the service, prior to allowing access to the account or prior toconnecting the telephone call. The user is encouraged to listen to thead in exchange for a free telephone call service or for entry into agame of chance such as a winning number drawing.

None of the prior art references disclose unobtrusive advertising in amobile device using the the broadcast media business model.

There is thus a need for, and it would be highly advantageous to have amethod of a central server and client software which together form anetwork through which advertising messages are transmitted from theserver to the client according to commercial targeting business rulesutilizing the broadcast media business model.

Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) is an open international standardfor applications that use wireless communication, for example Internetaccess from a mobile phone. WAP was designed to provide servicesequivalent to a Web browser with some mobile-specific additions, beingspecifically designed to address the limitations of very small portabledevices.

Code division multiple access (CDMA) is a form of multiplexing and amethod of multiple access that does not divide up the channel by time(as in TDMA), or frequency (as in FDMA), but instead encodes data with acertain code associated with a channel to perform the multiplexing. CDMAalso refers to digital cellular telephony systems that make use of thismultiple access scheme, such as those pioneered by Qualcomm, or W-CDMA.

CDMA2000 is a family of third-generation (3G) mobile telecommunicationsstandards that use CDMA, a multiple access scheme for digital radio, tosend voice, data, and signaling data (such as a dialed telephone number)between mobile phones and cell sites. It is the second generation ofCDMA digital cellular.

W-CDMA (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access) is a type of 3G cellularnetwork. W-CDMA is a wideband spread-spectrum 3G mobiletelecommunication air interface that utilizes code division multipleaccess (or CDMA the general multiplexing scheme, not to be confused withCDMA the standard).

The Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) is a popular standardfor mobile phones in the world. GSM differs significantly from itspredecessors in that both signaling and speech channels are digital,which means that it is considered a second generation (2G) mobile phonesystem.

DECT or Digital Enhanced (former European) Cordless Telecommunicationsis an ETSI standard for digital portable phones, commonly used fordomestic or corporate purposes. DECT can also be used for wireless datatransfers.

Integrated Digital Enhanced Network, (iDEN), is a mobile communicationstechnology, developed by Motorola, which provides its users the benefitsof a trunked radio and a cellular telephone.

Java Micro Edition (Java ME or J2ME), is a runtime and collection ofJava APIs for the development of software for resource constraineddevices such as PDAs, cell phones and other consumer appliances. Java MEwas designed by Sun Microsystems and is a replacement for a similartechnology PersonalJava.

Symbian OS is an operating system, designed for mobile devices, withassociated libraries, user interface frameworks and referenceimplementations of common tools, produced by Symbian Ltd. Symbian iscurrently owned by BenQ, Ericsson, Panasonic, Nokia, Siemens AG and SonyEricsson

Windows Mobile is a compact operating system for mobile devices based onthe Microsoft Win32 API. Devices which run Windows Mobile include PocketPCs, Smartphones, and Portable Media Centers. The Microsoft .Net CompactFramework is a streamlined version of the .NET Framework that isdesigned to run on mobile devices with limited memory, resources, andbattery power, including smart devices like personal digital assistants(PDAs), mobile phones, and set-top boxes. The .NET Compact Frameworkincludes the base class libraries from the full .NET Framework and a fewlibraries designed specifically for mobile devices such as Windows CEInputPanel.

(Reference: Wikipedia)

The term “user” as used herein is the consumer of a mobile device, e.g.cellular telephone.

The term “customer” as used herein is the entity that provides messagecontent, e.g advertisements for displaying on the mobile device.

The term “idle” when referring to a mobile device means that the deviceis not undergoing active communications intended for the users, i.e. nottalking and not receiving a message from another service, e.g SMS.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to the present invention there is provided a method forconveying a message to a user of a mobile device. The mobile deviceincludes a display and memory. Message content is transferred from aserver communicating with the mobile device over a mobile network.Metadata is also transferred from the server. The metadata includesinstructions for displaying the message content. The message content andthe metadata are stored in the memory. The message content is read fromthe memory and the message is displayed on the display according to theinstructions. The reading and displaying is performed by an applicationpreviously installed on the mobile device. The display events are loggedto produce a log stored in the memory and the log is periodicallytransferred to the server. Preferably, the message content is providedby a customer and the message content stored on the server is targetedfor the user. The customer receives the log from the server andpreferably the customer subsidizes use of the mobile device based on thelog. Preferably, transferring message content is performed solely whenthe mobile device is otherwise idle. Preferably, the displaying isperformed solely while the mobile device is idle, receiving an incomingcommunication, and/or ending an incoming communication. Preferably, theuser responds to the message by selecting a link presented in themessage. Preferably, the displaying is performed solely when a light ison illuminating the display, and the displaying does not turn on thelight.

Preferably, the message content and metadata is periodically updatedsolely when the mobile device is idle, by storing updated messagecontent and updated data in the memory.

According to the present invention there is provided a mobile device toa server through a mobile communications network, the mobile deviceincluding a memory and a display. An application is installed in themobile device which includes a transfer mechanism which transfersmessage content and metadata from a server communicating with the mobiledevice. The metadata includes instructions for displaying the messagecontent; a storage mechanism which stores the message content and themetadata in the memory; a display mechanism which reads the messagecontent and displays the message content on the display; and a logmechanism which logs display events performed by the display mechanism,and thereby stores a log using the storage mechanism in the memory. Thetransfer mechanism periodically transfers the log to the server.

According to the present invention there is provided, a program storagedevice readable by a machine, tangibly embodying a program ofinstructions executable by the machine to perform a method for conveyinga message to a user of a mobile device, the mobile device including adisplay and memory, the method as disclosed herein.

According to the present invention there is provide a program storagedevice readable by a machine, tangibly embodying a program ofinstructions executable by the machine or server to receive the messagecontent and provide the log to the customer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention is herein described, by way of example only, withreference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a simplified system drawing, according to embodiments of thepresent invention;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing modules a server and client device,according to embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a prior art drawing showing devices of different display size,wherein embodiments of the present invention are applicable;

FIG. 4 is a display screen layout of a mobile device, according toembodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a high level block diagram showing operation of the presentinvention, according to embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating updating of message contentaccording to embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating a process of displaying messagesupon receiving an incoming telephone call or text message, according toembodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of illustrating a process of displaying amessage while idle or upon ending incoming call or incoming textmessage, according to embodiments of the present invention; and

FIG. 9 is a block diagram of a process showing operation of anadvertisement browser module installed in the mobile device, accordingto embodiments of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

The present invention is of a system including a central server andclient software which together form a network through which advertisingmessages are transmitted from the server to the client according tocommercial targeting business rules. The server delivers the messages asa “playlist”. A “playlist” is a file including directives (meta data)directing specific messages to be displayed at specific times anddurations. Client software installed in the mobile device requires themobile device to be connected occasionally to the server via a data,e.g. HTTP connection.

The client software either downloads a playlist or the playlist isreceived via SMS, GPRS or another alternate communications method fromthe server. Downloading or updating of the playlist is handled on aperiodic schedule (e.g. once a day) in order to preserve battery powerand ensure scalability of the platform. The client device then downloadsthe relevant message content (text, image or video files). The clientdevice displays the messages according to the instructions within theplaylist.

The client software replaces existing “Screen Saver” and “Wallpaper” onthe mobile devices. The client software typically displays the visualmessages while the device is in “stand by”. Alternatively or in additionthe software displays the visual messages while the device is receivingan incoming call alert or other message alert (e.g. SMS) (Receive Callmode) and the user typically looks at the display to see from whom isthe incoming call/SMS. Alternatively or in addition, the softwaredisplays the visual messages when the device is ending a call (CallSummary mode). The messages are preferably unobtrusive banners,commercial companies' logos, a short video message in the backgroundand/or in a portion of the display, e.g. in the upper or lower part ofthe screen, thus not inhibiting the use of the device. The display ofthe messages preferably does not limit other functionality of the devicesince the visual message is displayed in the background while theforeground maintains the existing functional buttons, messages andinteractions. The client software preferably tracks or logs theimpressions (i.e. views) of each advertising message and sends the logof impressions periodically to the server. The messages are displayed inthe end user's preferred or default language and the message content ispreferably targeted or personalized to the user and follow the user towherever he/she is located, at home or roaming around the globe.Preferably, the messages are only displayed when the devices back lightis on by default therefore the device does not consume significant powerfor displaying a message. The messages may include action buttonsserving as a “trigger” or link in the message for commercial purposessuch as linking the user to more information on a WAP site or sending animmediate SMS message to participate in an offer. Such interactivityconforms to the “service policy” of providing unobtrusive messages.Action button triggers may be used for commerce purposes enabling theuser to “buy now” or enabling the user to get “more info” forinformational purposes.

Client software makes use of the built-in graphic functions of the phoneor device including three-dimensional graphics. The client software ispreferably protected from illegal tampering or removal by the end user.An end user that would like to remove the software will have to contacthis provider/carrier. If the software is disabled, e.g. by tampering theprovider/carrier is preferably notified since usage logs show noactivity from the user. In such case the provider/carrier may seek toterminate the contract or stop reimbursement of user on advertisingmessages viewed.

The server provides a management application enabling advertisers totarget campaigns based on user profile, demographics and usage patterns.The server manages media and tracks “performance” of advertisingcampaigns by logging impressions (views of a specific advertisingmessage). Reports can be used for integration with a billing platformfor reimbursement of the client for advertising viewed. The serverprovides “self service” capabilities for advertisers enabling them to“freeze” and “unfreeze” campaigns, view campaign performance reports,track targeting rules and manage campaign strategy. The system isdesigned preferably on servers with the capacity of up to 100,000 endusers simultaneously. Supported platforms include different kinds ofmobile devices using technologies including but not limited to CDMA,TDMA, GSM, iDEN, DECT, VoIP. The platform is compatible with and J2ME,Windows Mobile .Net, Symbian OS, Palm OS and native device intrinsictechnologies.

The principles and operation of a system and method of unobtrusiveadvertising on a mobile device according to a broadcast media businessmodel, according to the present invention, may be better understood withreference to the drawings and the accompanying description.

Before explaining embodiments of the invention in detail, it is to beunderstood that the invention is not limited in its application to thedetails of design and the arrangement of the components set forth in thefollowing description or illustrated in the drawings. The invention iscapable of other embodiments or of being practiced or carried out invarious ways. Also, it is to be understood that the phraseology andterminology employed herein is for the purpose of description and shouldnot be regarded as limiting.

By way of introduction, principal intentions of the present inventionare to: (1) provide the mobile device as a commercial medium whichutilizes the broadcast media business model, i.e. consumer, network,advertiser, (2) subsidize cost to the final consumer, i.e. user of thecellular telephone and augment cost to the customer, e.g. corporateadvertiser, with advertising revenue (3) offer a targeted, mobile andinherently personal, interactive, accountable media; (4) Addisplay/delivery and tracking is based on playlist/cache/offline modelrather than an on-line model and consequently does not require anetwork/data connection with constraints such as a limited bandwidth.(5) provide displayed advertisements which are interactive and serve asa trigger for mobile commerce via WAP and or outbound SMS. (6) supportmultiple client device operating systems (e.g. Symbian, Windows Mobile,BREW and different platforms (e.g. Palm, Smartphones, 3G cellulartelephones, PDAs) (7) provide unobtrusive advertising that does notlimit use of telephone for voice/data communications. Advertising onreceiving an incoming call creates an effective “captive” audience whilethe advertisement does not hinder the desired action on behalf of theuser, answering the call.

It should be noted that while the discussion herein is directed tocommercial advertisements, the principles of the present invention maybe adapted for use in, and provide benefit for display of,non-commercial advertisements, e.g. BLOOD DRIVE TODAY for non-profitorganizations, governmental and/or public welfare messages, e.g. VOTETODAY!, public opinion surveys and other types of messages with optionalinteractive responses.

The present invention may be applied to address certain social issuesrelated to lowering communications expenses for those who havedifficulty affording the service.

Implementation of the method and system of the present inventioninvolves performing or completing selected tasks or steps manually,automatically, or a combination thereof. Moreover, according to actualinstrumentation and equipment of preferred embodiments of the method andsystem of the present invention, several selected steps could beimplemented by hardware or by software on any operating system of anyfirmware or a combination thereof. For example, as hardware, selectedsteps of the invention could be implemented as a chip or a circuit. Assoftware, selected steps of the invention could be implemented as aplurality of software instructions being executed by a computer usingany suitable operating system. In any case, selected steps of the methodand system of the invention could be described as being performed by adata processor, such as a computing platform for executing a pluralityof instructions.

Referring now to the drawings, FIG. 1 is a simplified system blockdiagram, according to embodiments of the present invention. Campaignmanagement server 10 is responsible for defining, deploying and managingcampaigns by the customer. Server 10 includes a software applicationoperating over standard personal computer (PC) server hardware 100 andoffers a management interface for advertisers to define, manage anddeploy campaign playlists and media. Server 10 communicates with clients109 over a network, e.g. GSM network 105 or CDMA network 106. WAPGateway 102 is a part of existing mobile operator infrastructureenabling the connection between client 109 and server 10 over standardHTTP protocols operating on GPRS or CDMA data networks. A Short MessageService Center (SMSC) 104 is a network element in mobile telephonenetwork 106/106 which delivers text or SMS messages. When a user sendsan SMS message to another user, the telephone, e.g client 109 actuallysends the message to SMSC 104. SMSC 104 stores the message and thendelivers the message to client 109 when available, as a store andforward operation. SMSC 104 enables the sending and receiving ofmessages between server 10 and client 109. According to embodiments ofthe present invention SMS messages are optionally used for transferringplaylist directive data between campaign server 10 and client 109. SMSmessages may also used for triggering display of an advertisementaccording to an embodiment of the present invention.

Reference is now also made to FIG. 2, a block diagram showing details ofserver 10 and clients 109. Campaign manager module 100 is the maininterface for customers, i.e. advertisers to define, manage, track anddeploy campaigns on the system, according to embodiments of the presentinvention. Campaigns define which advertisements are shown and when theyare shown to each target audience. A campaign database 101, a repositorywhere all campaign data is stored, is a logical database operating overa standard database platform (e.g. mySQL, Oracle or MSSQL) which storesthe campaign meta data and data including playlist directives, actualcampaign resources (images) per client device and display size,impression logs and administrative data. Campaign Reports module 202 isan interface for generating reports for the purpose of gaugingeffectiveness and reach of the marketing campaign. Reports module 202includes ability to define and issue reports based on the targetaudience, campaign, campaign resources, time frame, target device,target platform and keywords. Billing Interface 203 is an interface toexisting and future billing/service platforms in order to enable mutualcompensation as applicable to serve the business model of augmenting thecustomer cost of telecommunications with advertising revenue (andlowering cost of telecommunications to the consumer)

In client 109, ad browser client module 204 is an interactiveapplication enabling the user to browse through all advertisements whichare available on his/her device 109. Ad browser client module 204enables the user to respond to the advertisement (when applicable) bylaunching a link to a WAP site connected with the advertisement or byissuing an SMS message connected with the advertisement. Playlistdirectives as defined in campaign manager 100 detail links (URLs) forboth WAP sites and SMS target addresses. Communication stack 205 is themodule responsible for communication with campaign server 10 when device109 is idle according to pre-defined schedule. Ad display 206 is a basicmodule of the client responsible for displaying advertising messageaccording to pre-defined events—an incoming call, an incoming SMS, endof call, idle, and/or screensaver mode. Advertisements are displayed asdirected in the playlist. Impression log module 207 is responsible forlogging all ad views on client 109 for later aggregation by campaignserver 10.

Reference is now made to FIG. 3 which shows in more physical detailclients Smart Phone 109 a and PDA 109 b. According to a feature inembodiments of the present invention, ad display 206 installed in client109 adjusts to the size of all types of screens in use from the smallestdisplay screen 40S to the biggest display screens 40B.

Reference is now made to FIG. 4 which illustrates display screen 40,according to an embodiment of the present invention. An image 41 isdisplayed which advertises BRAND X, just before an incoming call fromJohn Smith is answered. An original incoming call alert dialog 42 ofdevice 109 appears and action buttons 43 “Answer” and “Reject” functionunobstrusively without any interference by appearance of adverstisement41.

Operation of the present invention is illustrated in flow diagrams ofFIGS. 5-8. Referring now to FIG. 5, while device 109 is on (step 501), aplaylist and advertisement content is initially loaded (step 502). Indecision box 503, the application installed in device 109, checks ifdevice 109 is idle and if the time period is reached for updating(process 60 of FIG. 6) the playlist. If idle in decision box 503, thenserver 10 is checked (step 601) for an update of the playlist and theimpression log is sent (step 602) to the server. If there are no newitems with message content (decision box 603) then update process 60ends. Otherwise, if there are new items (decision box 603) theapplication loops (step 604) on the new items, retrieves (step 605) thenew item resources, e.g. image file, stores (step 606) the new itemresources in device 109 memory. Referring back to FIG. 5, in decisionbox 504, when device 504 is idle and an incoming call or incoming SMS isalerted in step 701 of process 70 in FIG. 7. then the applicationinstalled in device 109 loops through the playlist items (step 702),retrieves (step 703) the appropriate item from device 109 memory fordisplay and displays (step 704) resource or image. In step 705, theimpression or display event is logged. Process 70 ends (step 706) bycalling process 80 when device 109 returns to an idle state. Process 80is shown in FIG. 8. In step 801, an incoming call is ended. Theapplication installed in device 109 loops (step 702) on playlist items,retrieves (step 703) an item from device 109 memory, displays theretrieved item (step 704), logs the display event or impression 705. Theretrieved image is displayed for a duration (step 802) according to metadata including in the playlist, for a predetermined period of time,and/or while the back light is still on.

Reference is now made to FIG. 9 which illustrates an advertisementbrowser application installed as a feature in device 109 as, ad browser204 part of campaign manager 100. A user launches (step 901) anadvertisement browser and views the existing playlist (step 902). Arequested item is retrieved (step 703) from device 109 memory, therequested item is displayed (step 704), the display event or impressionis logged (step 705) and if selected, e.g. clicked a WAP site is openedor an SMS is sent by the user requesting further information or purchaseof the item selected and displayed.

Therefore, the foregoing is considered as illustrative only of theprinciples of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications andchanges will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is notdesired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operationshown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications andequivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of theinvention.

While the invention has been described with respect to a limited numberof embodiments, it will be appreciated that many variations,modifications and other applications of the invention may be made.

1. A method for displaying a message to a user of a mobile device, themobile device including a display and memory, the method comprising: (a)providing a mobile device having a display and a communication circuit;(b) uploading a plurality of messages having message content and a setof instructions for displaying said messages to said device via saidcommunication circuit; (c) detecting that a display of the device isilluminated independently of any message display; and (d) selectivelydisplaying a message of said plurality of messages, on said display,responsive to said detecting.
 2. A method according to claim 1, whereinsaid displaying comprises displaying in response to a detection thatsaid device is idle.
 3. A method according to claim 1, wherein saidmessage is targeted to a user of said device.
 4. A method according toclaim 1, wherein displaying comprises displaying said message as abackground message which does not interfere with an operation of saidmobile device.
 5. A method according to claim 4, wherein displayingcomprises displaying said message as a screen saver or a wall paper. 6.A method according to claim 1, wherein displaying comprises displayingan active message which a user can interact with.
 7. A method accordingto claim 6, wherein said interacting comprises selecting a link on saidmessage and following said link.
 8. A method according to claim 6,wherein said interacting comprises pressing a button on said mobiledevice.
 9. A method according to claim 1, comprising browsing by a userof at least one of said messages independent of display thereof.
 10. Amethod according to claim 1, wherein said uploading comprises uploadingat least one of said messages and said instructions by SMS.
 11. A methodaccording to claim 1, wherein said uploading comprises uploading by aserver which is accessible to an advertisement campaign manager.
 12. Amethod according to claim 1, further comprising logging one or more ofdisplaying, viewing or interacting with said messages by a user andsubsidizing use of the mobile device by an entity other than said user,based on said logging.
 13. A method according to claim 1, wherein saiduploading is performed solely when the mobile device is otherwise idle.14. A method, according to claim 1, wherein said displaying is performedalso in association with an active communication.
 15. A mobile deviceconfigured to perform the method of claim
 1. 16. A program storagedevice readable by a machine, tangibly embodying a program ofinstructions executable by the machine to display messages, according tothe method of claim
 1. 17. A method according to claim 1, wherein saidinstructions include an indication of what type of trigger to use fordisplaying.
 18. A method according to claim 1, comprising refreshingsaid message content and said instructions by push from a server.
 19. Amethod according to claim 1, comprising performing said upload.
 20. Amethod according to claim 1, comprising sending an SMS message by a userin response to said display by selecting said displayed message.